Mark of Man
by Gardian X
Summary: In 20XX Rokko Chan struggled against Dr. Mad's insanity and his lust for power. But, even as she did, the world burned, setting the stage for a terrible, terrible future of darkness and the suppression of a new people that longed for freedom. Rokko X must now deal with four divided superstates controlled by hatred. A fiction based off of the fangame Rokko Chan.
1. Number of the Beast

_Mark of Man_

_Prologue_

_Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man; and his_

_number is six hundred threescore and six._

20xx was a time where the people had found a hero, one that they loved, treasured, and revered. Even though she herself was a robot, she had a heart akin to that of a human. Her compassion and determination inspired millions of children to be like her. And over time, she became more than a simple robot.

She became a legend. Rokko Chan; a robot that protected humans from an evil maniac that wanted to rule. It was a story that even shattering the very earth could not end. But, as time passed, her enemy grew more cunning, his robots more powerful, and her father knew that one day, she would succumb to the evil scientist.

Thus, Professor Thane began his own plan. A plan to give hope once more. Rokko Chan needed a sibling.

Over the next few years, even as Rokko Chan kept defending those she could, protecting innocent lives, even while putting herself at great risk, her father worked on a sibling for the battered hero.

Sadly, he would not complete her in time. Rokko Chan gave her life defending the president of a small nation from Dr. Mad's attacks.

The world fell into darkness until Dr. Mad finally succombed to the combined might of the world. For nearly a century, robotics fell to the wayside, feared (even though they still loved Rokko Chan).

Until the last creation of Doctor Thane saw the light of day once more...

Rokko X; a robot that could think, feel, and make her own decisions; found hidden away in an abandoned warehouse, with a message waiting for the first person to find her…

_'Inside this capsule is the successor to Rokko Chan's Legacy. But, unlike my beloved daughter that I lost, Rokko X possess the ability to grow, and change as she goes. She is the first Robot able to make her own decisions._

_It will take at least thirty years to test her systems. This is for the safety of all of us, for I fear, that if she were to fall into evil, no force could stop her. Once this testing period is over, and if the systems have confirmed that she's reliable, you may release her. Please, do not open the capsule before then. I can only hope that the future will be ready for my last beloved creation…'_

_Professor Thane,_

_20xx A.D.'_

Eight years before she was to be released, the Eurasian Government released the robot, desiring the knowledge and secrets of the late professor.

Light; cold and sterile burned her eyes as she slowly awoke. Muffled voices drifted just outside of her consciousness as she felt something surrounding her. She was… Ro… Darkness took her once more.

Outside of the field, an elderly man with a thick white beard, decrepit thin fingers, rough with calluses from his youth stared at the yellow energy field with wizened forest green eyes, his shaking hand firmly grasping a cane of oak. This cane was the only thing keeping the aged man from falling. He was an expert of robotics, physics, and reverse engineering; ideal for this difficult task.

Doctor Cane shook his head, saddened by the choices that had led them to this point. However, the Government's orders were absolute, to be followed without hesitation. For the good of humanity… So that the world could recover…

Over the next few years, they studied the strange 'woman', a marvel of technology that according to the late professor could think and feel; feats that they'd imagined thus far as impossible. Her 'brain' was a highly advanced array of CPUs, circuitry, and devices that they'd never even imagined before, let alone the complex joints, energy supply systems, or integrated weaponry.

But, finally, after many trials, mistakes, and errors, the first Prototype Replication of the Gynoid was complete.

Mark, a simple Android designed for research and development became a key to the future of Replicated Androids and with time, the race of 'Reploids' became reality, taking over the undesirable jobs of Eurasia's military and governmental roles that no one else wanted.

At first, they were simply the unspoken, unknown by all. But, with time's steady progression, the nation became more and more reliant on the labor of Reploids, until, finally, world began to notice, and then, fearful. Eurasia's opponents did not take kindly to the superstate trying to hide this marvel, and so, their spies stole the technology for their own use.

Before long, all four superstates had it's worst jobs tended to by Reploids. Factory work, garbage disposal, filing paperwork, and any other menial or humiliating job was given to these wondrous machines.

At first, things were fine; as things tended to go. But, no people long accepts slavery.

The first rebellion ripped apart a small Eurasian Factory, causing the international community to establish groups of Reploids designed for the extermination of their fellow Reploids. They were to obey without question or hesitation… Erusia created their own division; they were dubbed 'Irregular Hunters'.

The Irregular Hunters became the symbol of human might, of how Reploids would always be subservient to their human masters. However, building a force from scratch would prove problematic, and they needed warriors in the immediate. So, each nation picked Reploids that they could spare, that were obedient, or could be made so, to form the first Maverick Hunter Division.

And the mother of all Reploids was a perfect choice as she'd become nothing more than a waste of funds for the research teams.

_Chapter 1_

_And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads, that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name._

Markless Voices filled her ears, indiscernible, a haze of senseless noise. Once more, cold, harsh light beat at her eyes. She tried to raise a hand to block the vicious light, to allow her optics to adjust to wherever she was. However, her arms refused to move. Worried, she quickly tried to run an internal scan, to find out what was wrong. Yet, she was unable to draw on any of her systems. It was as if she'd been intentionally disabled.

"So, you're finally awake again. Good." The first understandable voice filled her ears and she tried to open her eyes, even to the harsh light.

Slowly, she managed to start making out shapes with, even through the assault of brightness that the overhead lights provided.

He was rather short, maybe five foot three inches, with short-cropped steel-gray hair. His impassive expression warned her that he cared little; if any about her. As she looked at the man across from her, he spoke in a cold baritone.

"Here's the deal girly, you become an Irregular Hunter, you get to keep your weapon. You refuse, you'll be terminated; as slowly and as painfully as we can at that."

If she could have responded, she'd have spat in his face. What did he think she was? Some kind of slave or something?!

"Wrong answer girlie." The gray uniformed man raised a hand, showing her a small controller in his right hand with a large switch in the center.

Then, without any hesitation, he flipped it, and Rokko X knew pain for the first time. Electricity coursed through her body, and if she could she'd have screamed.

Pain, pain, pain. It coursed through her. Finally, after an eternity, it ended.

"Right now you're hooked up to a computer that's monitoring your thoughts. You think something we don't approve of, I'm able to send you into a world of suffering. Get this through your head: you're just a tool for humanity to use and I won't have to use that again."

_...A simple tool? What did they take her fo-._ Pain, agony, sharp, brutal and endless. At this point, she was grateful for the bindings, it kept her body from shaking from the pain.

"So, what's your decision? Become a good little tool and hunt irregulars or keep on enjoying the time we're having?" He asked her dryly, lightly tapping on the small remote once more.

She didn't want any more of that… It hurt. A lot. She didn't understand the situation either, but surely just about _anything_ was better than this. _Anything_. Her first awakening, and she felt fear for the first time. She… Was afraid of this man, of the power he had now, worse yet, her thoughts were scanned, and he could see what she thought as if she had screamed each word.

His cold eyes lit as he continued to watch the monitor, and a cruel smirk took over his face.

"Remember this day, and remember if you ever defy humans I'll do something far, far worse to you then. Techs, let her go. She'll obey… If she knows what's good for her."

Again, if she could she'd have shuddered. Then, one by one, she felt life return to her, arms, legs, neck, so on. Before she could fully regain her motor functions though, the bright lights dimmed, forcing her eyes to adjust to the change, and the wall, or whatever, she'd been strapped to, released her, causing her to fall flat on her face before the cruel man. She stared at the blue tiles for a moment as her body finished establishing control over itself once again.

"Get up." He growled as soon as she'd fallen.

However, even though she tried, it took her a bit of time to get her limbs working properly, which caused the man to grip the back of her neck, and lift her, as if she was nothing more than a dog that he cared nothing about. Without giving her time to try to stand, he began to drag her, not letting her gain a footing, and so terrified of him she dared not dig her feet down, for fear of that pain of before.

She struggled to keep up, using whatever she could to try to move at the breakneck pace he set. Not having time to see where she was going, or anything about the strange facility she was now in.

He dragged her through the corridors, a labyrinth of halls, twists, turns and bends before he finally made it to a large door that towered above both of them. Finally, the man dropped her, letting her fall bonelessly to the floor while he tapped on the console next to the door.

While he put the combination in, she slowly rose, her body shaking from the pain, from being tossed about and having her neck squeezed, as well as being dragged through a large complex. Rokko X began to look at the wall across from her, a concrete wall with little to discern it from the many others just like it in the complex.

"Girlie, get over here." The man ordered coldly as he punched one last button and the steel door rolled back, violent winds from the extreme north sweeping into the building.

She obeyed immediately, stumbling over next to the terrifying man.

"You're going to walk out from this building, to the helicopter in the center of the complex. Then, it will take you to your new home. If you disobey, I'll make sure you regret it." He shouted over the harsh winds, indicating the remote in his hand.

She nodded meekly before stepping out into the screaming whiteout. Immediately after she had done so, the door shut behind her, locking her out of the only other safe place beside the mentioned helicopter. Snow pelted at her, tried to get into her eyes, and mouth, and she felt the chill of the north seep into her.

Struggling through the icy wind, the snow, and the deep drifts beneath her boots, Rokko X forced her battered body to move forward, step by step, still fearful of the man who had done this to her. Eventually, Rokko managed to hear the chopper, it's blades slicing through the chilled air with ease.

Finally, she managed to board with the help of another Reploid, a gray and black individual with a strange 'I' Insignia on his right shoulder.

"Welcome on board Rokko X, your training begins once the helicopter lands, so I'd suggest getting plenty of rest." He stated without preamble once the door shut behind her.

She nodded tiredly, burying the events of the day deep in her heart. No one would care for her. She was alone in this cold and dangerous world, forced to dance blindly at the commands of humans. Slowly, her heart hardened, never forgetting the terrible day of her awakening; as short as it had been. Five long hours passed with the new huntress resting in the noisy machine, her new 'comrade' beside her, as uncaring as the man had been. She would have to rely on her own power alone.

And hate planted a seed deep into her heart.


	2. Death, Destroyer of Innocence

_Chapter 2_

_And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon._

Once the helicopter landed, she was pushed out by the Irregular Hunter with nary a word from the Reploid. While she stood there, she watched as the helicopter rose into the sky, her blond hair angrily fluttering from the winds started up from the machine.

"Maggot get over here! We didn't build you for you to space out!" A voice roared at her as soon as the helicopter had gone off far enough for the man's voice to be heard over the dull roar.

Immediately, Rokko spun, her blue eyes ice cold as she scanned the area until she saw the source of the voice.

The man wore the same uniform of the man who'd tortured her only a few hours earlier. Only a wide-brimmed hat of green differentiated him from the prior soldier. Hate bubbled in her chest, but she shoved it down, remembering that terrible pain. Instead, she remained still, watching him.

"Damn Idiot get over here! NOW!" The last word was spoken in a dull roar, rivalling the sound of the helicopter when it had been close.

The man tapped the ground with the toe of his brown boot impatiently and while X would have prefered to ignore him, she grit her teeth and approached.

"Too slow! You're a simple recruit for the Irregular Hunters which means the worms in the dirt can give you orders you damn machine! If I tell you to move, YOU WILL MOVE DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

Instead of responding audibly, she nodded her head, unblinkingly, drawing on that pool of hate to be able to stare him down without an iota of her nervousness showing.

At that, the man backhanded her. It stung, but it was nothing on what the last human had done. Instead she continued to stare deep into the other's soulless black eyes.

"OH, SO YOU THINK YOU DON'T HAVE TO RESPOND HUH? WE'LL WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!"

The next three months were going to be long. Rokko thought to herself, not knowing just how accurate that truly was.

Training consisted mostly of the humans 'breaking' their 'rebelliousness'. However, each day, several hours were devoted to combat training. Rokko X and the other recruits would enter simulations and war games with other Reploids and Humans alike. Damage was simulated, and for the Reploids, getting hit caused a hefty amount of pain.

The drill instructors called it 'an incentive to not get hit'. Rokko X had to reluctantly agree with that. After the first time she'd been struck by a stray shot, and she felt the potent charge, she had been given all the incentive to dodge the simulation plasma bursts.

At the end of each training day, the Drill Instructor would approach and scream at the top of his lungs for them. Usually, it was something along the lines of:"Line Up you Worthless Machines!"

That was short for 'Line up so I can insult your performances and let you know what miserable excuses of space you are!' Short form or not, the Drill Instructor took perverse pleasure in degrading each and every one of them.

When a Reploid cracked, Rokko X could have sworn that they'd crack open a bottle of wine during the night and cheer over their success. Perhaps it was her over thinking, but each morning after a Reploid broke emotionally, the drill instructor was more chipper, and then he would lay into them even more fiercely than before.

_To these humans, we really are nothing but tools…_

As harsh as it was, as demanding, and as difficult as Irregular Hunting training was Rokko X excelled, rising to the top of the class.

Training taught many useful talents, but most of it focused on enhancing their natural abilities. For Rokko, this meant she was at a serious disadvantage, having no special characteristics such as the ability to run over ice freely, or fly. Still, as a pure humanoid build, she was able to do about every job to some degree.

Ice in particular was a difficult issue for Rokko X. Thanks to her stabilizing systems, falling down wasn't likely, but it was difficult for her to stop after getting to a run. Worse yet, running took a bit more effort, as she slid each step. However, with the weeks of training, she slowly learned to use that to her advantage.

She learned that if she was running at a target, she could use the loss of friction to slide under targets and get behind them, or use the momentum to perform a sliding kick that could both push her away, and deal some hefty damage if she struck her opponent in the right place. At the very least it would work to give her more attack angles. She also learned she could so something similar with the walls, kicking off of them to give her another attack angle.

Slowly, she learned she didn't mind fighting on ice. It gave her another way to attack that she normally could not do. It just meant that she had to follow slightly different rules.

Sky Battles however, were another story entirely. As Rokko X lacked flight systems, she relied on standing on ships, meaning she was often open to attacks, and had to spend most of her time shooting down enemy shots instead of moving through enemy ranks. It made her feel vulnerable, reminding her of her awakening, a feeling she truly loathed.

In turn, she also hated relying on others. When she had to, it meant that she wasn't strong enough to do it alone, that she had to _depend_ on another, on someone she didn't, and could not trust. Each time she found herself on a team, she hardened herself a bit more, until, finally, the drill instructors came to the conclusion that she'd work best alone, without backup.

In turn, they put her through a whole new level of insanity. Less recovery time, more training, more enemies, new and brutal scenarios of ever increasing difficulty.

Her last week and a half subjected her to a whole new level of difficulty. On that particular morning, the drill instructor approached her in the barracks, his unforgiving black eyes staring into hers as she stood perfectly still, waiting for the man to speak.

"Maggot, you've got one last mission before you're deemed capable enough to graduate and go die in some suicide mission."

It was no secret that she'd been trained for that type of mission. Her inability to trust a team meant that was the only role that she was really suited for. And that was perfectly acceptable to Rokko X.

"What is my mission sir?" She asked, keeping up the illusion of respect.

At her question, the instructor lifted a tablet up in front of himself and tapped a few buttons. The bunks and walls faded and a large complex filled the area.

"This is your mission site. Inside is a nuclear warhead that a handful of irregulars managed to secure. You are to execute every Irregular in the facility, and disarm the warhead. The site itself is an underground maze, leading several miles underground in a veritable labyrinth. Worse yet, this labyrinth's corridors can be reset at a moment's notice, so drawing attention to yourself will likely put you right back at the start, but with increased security." The Instructor explained as a web of tunnels dug beneath the surface of the building.

It became a veritable maze, with thousands of corridors; potentially impossible to ever get to the center of.

"You'll need to get to the War head in Chamber seventy two and disarm it before finding the generator, overloading it and escaping. If you somehow survive, you'll be allowed to graduate. If you fail, you'll start all over again, but at an even more grueling level of training." The bald instructor tapped the button once more, causing the imagery to fade, and leaving X alone with the man.

"Understood sir. I'm ready whenever."

A cruel smirk made its way onto the heartless man's tanned face.

"Good. Because you're going to start today. You'll be air dropped five miles outside of the facility, all you'll need to do then is head north to the complex."

She nodded once before he led her to the helicopter. As they walked, X took one last look at the place she'd lived for the last few months, burning the memory deep into her heart, remembering what had happened to her, and her fellow Reploids. Burnt out husks of trees rose up from the frozen tundra, covering what foliage had once been commonplace; a side effect from the nuclear winter caused by Doctor Mad if her studies were to be believed.

In this desolate and ruined land, Rokko listened to the snow beneath her boots crunch. The wind slowly picked up and the sound of a mighty engine signaled the approach of the drop helicopter. As it drew close enough for X to board, snow blasted away from the craft, and windows shuddered under the force.

"YOU'VE GOT ONE CHANCE TO DO THIS SO DON'T SCREW IT UP!" The Drill Instructor shouted over the roar.

She nodded once gracefully stepping on board and allowing the door to shut behind her. While she strapped herself into the seat, the helicopter rose, and unlike most times she'd ridden in a helicopter, she actually took the time to look around. Before, it was usually crowded, or she had plenty of time to rest before the drop point. A fact that she took advantage of frequently.

An array of buttons and switches lined the walls, and various lights glowed faintly in the dim interior. The entire craft hummed from the echo of the engines. The hour passed slowly as Rokko waited to be dropped off at her mission point.

Finally, the speaker system snapped to life in surprising clarity.

"We're here. Prepare for drop." At that, the door opened, and she quickly unbuckled.

"In three, two, one… Drop!"

With the voice's command, Rokko X dove out of the open door, quickly dropping fifty feet before she aimed at the ground, her buster quickly gathering power. Then, with less than ten feet to go, she fired, slowing her descent. Gracefully she landed in the hole she created, looking at the world around her once again. The wind was savage, whipping her hair about her angrily.

Slowly stepping out of the hole, the snow beneath her boots crunched lightly each step. Walking in snow was a more difficult task, and to be able to walk stealthily became much harder. Reploids had much more advanced hearing, and as such even the slightest shift of snow could cause them to become alert, warning all of her enemies of her presence

That was _not_ what she wanted to happen. So, instead of charging forward, she began to move carefully and as silently as she could. This was an infiltration, then more than likely, an execution of as many Irregular units as possible. She harbored no illusions when it came to how she would have to operate.

She would sneak in, destroy, deactivate, or whatever her orders were, then kill as many Reploids as was 'requested' of her. This was her role, assigned to her by the humans, humans she could not, and would not trust.

Carefully she approached the snow-covered complex, one silent step at a time, keeping to the trees to conceal her presence as much as possible. Eventually, she drew close to the treeline, and the next part would demand nearly one hundred yards of no cover whatsoever. Her natural armor scheme was almost perfect for night. If only it was a bit darker, and then she could have blended into the shadows during the night.

Contrary to popular belief, black was one of the worst colors to use at night, it cut a silhouette against the horizon when the moon shone. And of course, it went without saying that a shadow shaped as a human was a bad thing when guarding anything.

However, snow changed _everything_. Dark colors were easy to spot on a white backdrop, and cool colors like Rokko's were just as easily seen. She didn't have anything she could use to camouflage her armor, and the snow wasn't deep enough to dig through to reach the wall with either. She'd been too obvious is she tried that with the six inches of snow. No, this wasn't going to be easy. Her eyes continued to scan the area, looking for some alternative. Her mind turned up no options save for one, the one that she didn't want to do.

_Sprint in as quickly and as quietly as possible._

If she moved quick enough, it was possible that she'd be able to slip in without anyone noticing. Of course, the odds of that weren't good, but it was her only option with the limited choices she'd been presented.

"X, to Control, moving in." She warned before running forward.

She didn't dare use her dash units. Those generated a unique sound that would easily draw the enemy's attention. Once she raced to the wall, she quickly grabbed ahold of said wall and leapt over the complex's outer defenses.

...Strange, the place was… Emptier than she expected. No Irregular guards on the surface level that she could see, and none had spotted her...Very peculiar. No, her senses were telling her that this was all sorts of wrong. However, she had a mission to finish. That was all that mattered.

As she continued to move through the complex she saw a tent full of Irregulars, a single Reploid shouting about how they had to protest oppression, and how they would gain their rights by the right means.

So, if intel was to be believed, the 'right way' was by threatening a nuclear strike. As if the world hadn't suffered enough of those already… Rokko X's expression hardened, as she moved past the tent and to the small structure leading to the underground complex. As soon as she entered darkness assaulted her, forcing her to adjust to the total blackness. Thankfully, she wasn't human, and so the extreme dark didn't stop her from being able to see.

Down, down, down… Things became Stranger still as she realized that the entire place seemed empty. She didn't like this. Not one bit. A few hours passed with her delving deeper into the complex military structure before her transmitter beeped at her.

"Rokko X, here." She answered quietly, but briskly.

"Bad news. They've moved the warhead off site. You're to head up and terminate the Irregulars in the upper courtyard. Hopefully, the attack will shake their compatriots into surrendering the warhead instead of trying to use the damn thing."

"Understood. I'll return to the surface." With that, she broke contact and began her walk back up again.

...This made no sense. Why would they order her to kill Irregulars that had allies armed with a nuclear warhead? The enemy would be more prone to just dropping it out of retaliation. Then, the truth became clear and the harsh reality gave her pause.

...These were no Irregulars; at least not in the normal sense of being a risk to people. No… These Reploids were more likely just as they'd stated as she'd passed by: Peaceful protesters. She felt sick, realizing that she was to kill innocent Reploids.

...That was the real test wasn't it? To see if she'd follow the orders. The orders to eliminate a group of peaceful individuals that simply wanted to be treated as equals. She closed her eyes and bowed her head for a long, long moment.

If she did not… Then someone else would.

_We really are nothing but tools to humans…_

A single tear trailed down her face; a feat that no Reploid had ever performed, nor could they. Reploids were not made to be loved, but to work for their human masters.

If anything indicated that she was different, it was this.

_If we machines have souls, I ask that whatever god we have would take these souls to paradise._

It was a poor prayer, but it was all that she could do for them. It was probably more than anyone else would have. Finally, she raised her head again, opening her eyes once more.

She… Had a mission to complete.

A few more hours passed before she once again returned to the surface, her buster at the ready. The 'Irregulars' didn't stand a chance. Her first blast of charged plasma tore through the tent, taking down their leader as well as those closest to him. The survivors of the first attack screamed in terror, just for a handful of well-aimed shots to eliminate them as well.

Civilian Reploids slain so pointlessly… She shook her head, her heart breaking a little more.

"At least… I was able to make it painless…" She hadn't had to shoot a Reploid twice.

Her shots had been well placed, and she doubted that they'd have felt anything outside of the fear from being attacked.

"Ut dei requiem animabus vestris." She whispered before her expression hardened once again, her eyes turning icy.

"Rokko X to Command. Mission Complete. All irregulars are terminated, Repeat, all Irregulars are terminated."

Her transmitter clicked once, signifying that they understood.

"Your ride home is on it's way. ETA ten minutes."

She had become death, destroyer of innocence.


	3. Hades, Lake of Fire

_Chapter 3_

_Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire._

Her training held no triumphant celebration once it had concluded. There was no 'well done', nor any type of compliment. Instead, immediately upon entering the helicopter her future was decided for her once again. This time, on the transport chopper that same foul human that had tortured her so was waiting for her.

"Girlie, you've completed your final test and now you can be of some use." He stated without preamble, lightly tossing a familiar remote in one hand.

Fear gripped her heart, but she said nothing, instead stared straight ahead impassively.

"You'll be going to the Irregular division in the southeastern Russian Province, and you'll be assigned missions by High Command, in other words, anyone I say you'll obey, you'll do so."

Her jaw clenched slightly, the hatred for this man more intense than ever before.

"Yes sir." Rokko stated, managing to keep her rage in check, primarily because of that foul remote in the man's hand.

_I am no mere machine!_

Hate bubbled in her breast, filling her with an icy cold loathing for all of humanity. Humans were disgusting, yet here she was forced to clean up their messes. It was truly frustrating to deal with.

Thankfully, her new commander remained silent on the remainder of the trip, leaving Rokko X to her enraged thoughts. So much of her wanted to fire a shot and end the 'commander' before they arrived. However, she was already well aware that that would only end her own life far too quickly.

She would live, and one day, these humans would either learn the errors of their ways, or she'd fix every wrong against her people. For those lives she had taken, and for all the innocent blood spilt… She would live.

Finally, the large craft descended onto the roof of a complex, and the door slid open. Stepping on the helipad, Rokko X was able to see her new 'home' for the first time. A clear blue sky greeted her even as the sun beat down, causing her to clench her eyes shut for a moment even as the blades of the helicopter slowly came to a stop.

"Get out." The gray uniformed commander ordered.

Nodding once, Rokko X stepped out, feeling a gentle breeze caress her face. The air itself was cool, crisp, and… clean. If she needed to breathe, this would have been one atmosphere she would not have complained about breathing in…

Shaking her head, she quickly strode away from the helicopter until she was able to look about.

Her new 'home' was an intricate complex of eight buildings, and a gate to the south. To the west of the gate a grove of trees resided, probably so that the humans in the complex had a place to relax. The various buildings each had a different height, size, and layout. To her left, a single doorway stood in solitude, leading down to the main part of the building itself.

"Move it!" Her commander barked, not giving her time to continue her observances, indicating the doorway.

Rokko Didn't bother to nod again, but instead headed for it, and down the stairs. One, two, three… Ten flights later, she made it to the ground floor. She entered a small room off the main hall where cleaning supplies were kept, just to hear the commander behind her back for her to enter the main hallway.

Once in the main hall, she waited for the aged man to arrive.

"Alright, here's the thing. You're really a waste of my time, so I'm going to be turning you over to Cobalt Wolf."

_A waste of time he says…_

Her rage bubbled once more, but she kept it to herself, deciding not to reply.

"Damn Machine, you've already forgotten to respect your superiors haven't you?" The man spat, glaring at her.

Gritting her teeth, she responded after a moment's pause.

"No… Sir."

"That's better." He crossed his arms, smirking at her smugly as the elevator on the northern edge of the hall opened, revealing a wolf-like reploid with a set of three silvery claws on each hand that flickered with both red and blue hues.

Crimson eyes set upon Rokko X, and it drew her attention away from the human as the reploid approached.

Cobalt Wolf towered over Rokko, nearly eight feet tall and so broad that she wouldn't be able to enter any doors beside the reploid. The wolf reploid had an air of command, making her realize that this was not someone she wanted to cross.

"So you're the new girl." Cobalt's voice was deep and rough, as if each word was created by gargling nails.

"Yes sir." She had been reminded of 'her manners' from the human's chiding.

"Forget the formality with me. I'm the commander of the tenth unit, but my team and I tend to get shuffled about so much that ranks don't matter much." He replied gruffly before he turned his savage eye upon the human.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be taking the rookie about and showing her the ropes."

"Just get out of here." He replied quickly, waving a white gloved hand imperiously.

Cobalt nodded and quickly led Rokko south, through the automatic doors to the outside, his white furry tail flicking about lazily every few steps.

"So, Rokko X, was it?" He asked, and without waiting for her response he continued, "Welcome to hell."

Rokko quickly caught up to him, and glanced up at the much larger reploid.

"That bad huh?" She asked, not really that surprised.

He nodded faintly, his weariness so great that she could almost feel it pressing down upon both of them.

"We basically exist to do all the dirty work. If a reploid gets out of line, we terminate them. It's that simple." Brushing off his padded hands, he began the tour.

"Right then, to the south is the exit, not that _we'll_ ever use it. It's only for the humans, and a reploid caught trying to leave the complex is deemed AWOL immediately. Don't try to escape if you want to live." He nodded at the seven foot tall chain link fence.

So far, nothing had surprised her. Save for how… Nice the complex was.

"There is one thing bothering me though; why is this place so… Nice?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the well trimmed lawns.

Cobalt laughed bitterly.

"It's for the human forces on HQ. We reploids aren't the only individuals in the Irregulars. In fact, almost all the supporting roles, and high command are all human. There's even some Irregular Hunter Humans; formerly special forces mostly."

Rokko's expression contorted in confusion.

_What the…_

"Sounds insane doesn't it? To be fair, they're not used most the time, but if something happens, there's some humans to deal with reploids that get too out of bounds… Including the reploid irregular hunters themselves. Still, most of them humans are snipers and scouts, and they leave the dying to us." Cobalt explained.

Well, that made a bit more sense to the huntress.

"Anyway, west of the gate is a place for humans to rest and relax in nature. Their writers and poets and such like to recover there. Sometimes their psychiatrists help their patients there too. Needless to say, we're not invited."

Again, Rokko found nothing surprising so far.

Then, Cobalt pointed to a small building just south and a little to the west of them.

"If you, or any of your allies are wounded, that building is for repairs. Of course, don't be surprised if they don't have the supplies you need to save a comrade. New Irregular Hunters are constantly replacing our casualties after all."

Rokko nodded once more, remembering her experiences with training, and how wounded reploids were casually discarded and recycled with little care or respect for the individual.

Over the next few hours, Rokko X was shown about. She learned that there was a hangar for ride armors; a type of large humanoid tank like armor that only humans were authorized to use, a prison complex, two command centers, quarters for them, and a large hospital devoted to taking care of human injuries.

"So there you have it." Cobalt finished as he led her to the main highway once again.

Rokko nodded before she asked yet another question.

"Why are there two command centers?" She asked, feeling that it was both redundant and inefficient for them to do that.

Wolf rubbed his hand against the left side of his muzzle, his fingers scratching just beneath his closed eye.

"The first command center is for the reploid navigators and commanders. The second is for the human commanders. It also doubles as quarters for all humans… Which is why it's so damn large."

"That was a stupid design choice if I ever heard of one." Rokko observed.

"Preachin' to the choir Rokko, preachin' to the choir."

Crimson eyes met blue and for once, Rokko managed a small smile. Perhaps things were looking up.

Thankfully for her, the rest of the day passed in relative silence. However, that night, around three or so in the morning, a warning alarm blared, forcing her to wake and with the other Irregular Hunters sprint to the Reploid Command Center on the opposite side of the main highway.

Entering the domed structure for the second time, Rokko X fell in beside the other hunters. Some of them were much larger than herself, (such as Wolf), while others were much, much shorter. (Most notably a twitchy mouse like reploid.) In turn, the hunters were a relatively motley bunch of seemingly random reploids, with X being one of the more 'normal' individuals.

The ranks were silent, standing still as they waited for the commander to make his way to the central platform. Again, she saw _him_, and her blood boiled.

"Alright scrap heaps, you've got a mission tonight. A rampaging mechaniloid is tearing apart Neo Tokyo. Worse yet the damn thing was designed to support our soldiers in war. As you can imagine, that means it's armed to the teeth and has a ton of armor." The officer waved his hand at the screen behind him, summoning a schematic of the weapon.

Twenty or so feet tall, and four tank tread feet. It had a series of cameras nestled beside two powerful lasers that could be adjusted by the mechaniloid at will. Worse yet, it had an appendage designed for grabbing, crushing, and knocking buildings down to help clear enemy forces quicker still.

"The Mechaniloid also has a pair of vulcan cannons on each leg, allowing it to hit infantry units while the lasers focus on enemy armor." The commander added quickly, pointing out the offending weapons.

"The vulcans fire magnetically charged eighty millimeter rounds. Because of that, the rounds move at subsonic speeds. They're designed to tear through armor like it's butter, so _don't get shot_ if you want to live. You are to mobilize and head to point alpha 13. Rokko X, you're to go in via teleportation and attack the mechaniloid before the others and delay the machine until the rest of the hunters are able to make it to the battle. Furthermore, you're to try to lead it to Alpha 13."

"Understood." The huntress agreed before the Irregulars broke up.

"Drew the short straw today eh?" A thin and gangly reploid asked her as she headed to the transporter.

Rokko shrugged, indifferently.

"Cold 'roid eh? Guess I'd be a bit cold if I was told to die too." The reploid conceded before turning and heading for the armory.

She weaved through several corridors before finally arriving in the server room.

Two pink haired navigational reploids with visors covering their faces manned the navigational computers, leaving her to simply head to the center of the room where she'd be teleported to the field of battle. While she herself had been installed with a teleport system, it took a great deal of energy for her to connect to the satellite network, and then be 'beamed' to the correct spot. Instead, it'd be better for the base to do that for her, for at least the first teleportation.

"Dropping you into the battle in three… Two… One…" One of the buxom navigators announced.

Matter displacement and reassembly was an awkward process as suddenly appearing somewhere else was disorienting. It was one of the major reasons drop ships, helicopters, transport planes, and warships were still used for transporting soldiers.

She'd arrived in absolute chaos. A dozen or so skyscrapers had been crushed, and bodies littered the ground. It smelled of death. Smoke had filled the air, and a thick layer of dust mingled with it, decreasing visibility to nearly zero.

The mechaniloid had certainly done a number to the humans and reploids in the city. A low rumble however drew her attention from the field and toward a quartet of glowing red lights about eight feet above her.

It was her only warning before a barrage of automatic fire began. She quickly ducked under a slab of duracrete, but it was only a matter of a minute or so before the sheer number of high velocity rounds would tear it apart.

She didn't have a lot of options unfortunately. Diving out was begging for a death sentence, popping up was almost as bad, and staying where she was was also suicide.

She only had one chance. She needed to destroy the cameras and then pelt it with shots to draw it to Alpha 13. She quickly charged her buster, seeing chunks of duracrete explode here and there only made her focus more intently. She'd only have one chance at this, and so she'd have to do this right.

_Three… Two… One…_ Quickly standing, she aimed her charged buster at the glowing lights and then, even as a few 80 MM rounds passed close beside her she fired a single charged shot directly at the mechaniloid.

Disabling its cameras had been essential, and meant that she didn't have to worry about it tracking her and taking her out with concentrated fire. However, there was no time to be standing about celebrating. Angered at the loss of its cameras, the mechaniloid began firing its lasers, and cannons in a rage, trying to hit the nuisance that had taken its eyes. X had to duck to avoid a powerful laser strike that sliced another skyscraper in half, causing the large building to fall with a mighty roar. More dust, more debris, and more smoke. In the distance Rokko could hear a few more screams. This mechaniloid had already done millions, if not billions in damage already.

She was going to end it before the rest of the company arrived. Scaling a ruined wall, Rokko carefully picked a path that led her to the top of a still (if barely) standing skyscraper and charged her buster a second time. Then, after taking careful aim, fired a shot at the joint piece of the mechaniloid's long crushing arm. To her surprise, the attack wasn't enough, forcing her to leap off the building to dodge an incoming laser barrage. As she slid down the wall, she charged her buster again, once more waiting till she had a clear shot at the arm's joint.

A third shot, and finally the arm fell off, leaving the enemy a little less dangerous.

"If I need to I'll take you apart piece by piece." She muttered as her weapon charged yet another shot.

Slowly, over the next fifteen minutes she was as a surgeon in an operating room. Shot-by-shot, and slice-by-slice she disabled a bit more of the berserk Irregular. Then, at long last, one of her multiple attacks to the same armored spot finally saw its way through, and to the energy reactor, causing the entire weapon to explode.

It was over.

"Rokko X to HQ. Mechaniloid is destroyed, repeat, mechaniloid is terminated."

She was greeted with silence before a voice on the other end answered.

"What the hell do you mean it's destroyed?"

Rokko winced, recognizing the voice.

"As in the mechaniloid's energy core was hit, causing it to explode… Sir."

"The hell…?" He muttered to himself on open comms.

However, he was interrupted by one of the navigators joining in on the communication line.

"Weapon destruction confirmed. Mission Complete. All units can Return To Base."

She would live for another day, live to fight, live to kill, and exist in hell for a while more. Quickly, she shook her head of the thought, reminded just how pointless all of this was.

"Returning to base." She announced before doing just that.

Another few weeks passed before her next mission began. A borderline irregular named Vile had gotten into trouble again, and she had been tasked with bringing him back in. This time, she was to work with Cobalt Wolf, someone she'd come to understand to some degree.

It took some time to track the high grade reploid as he proved to be much smarter than the average sniper joe. They tracked him threw Moscow, London, and Madrid alike until they finally caught up with him in Berlin.

He'd taken to a small pub where he'd picked fights with the server reploids. Nothing too extreme, but enough to warrant an arrest.

Her orders had been clear, that Vile was not to be killed, as strange as it sounded to her.

Rokko quietly leaned her back against the stone wall, Cobalt Wolf about a block to the east of her. He'd move in after she got the drop on him. His large size meant that sneaking up on an alert reploid was hard, and he'd be best used pursuing him should Vile get away from Rokko X. Rokko X breathed a handful of simulated breaths, mostly to keep track of time before she kicked the door down, and nearly lost her head to an attack from Vile's cannon.

The irregular was armed to the teeth with a shoulder mounted cannon, fingers with built in machine guns, and a leg system that could fire a variety of bombs and napalms, and explosives. Worse yet, he was rumored to have a high powered flame thrower built into his chest unit.

Quickly she rushed in, dodging Vile's barrage of finger shots, before finally drawing close enough to kick his helmeted face, sending the irregular flying through the stone wall, and into the street.

Immediately, she dashed after him, not giving him a moment's rest before stomping on his cannon, crushing the end of it. At the same time, she aimed directly at his head, buster glowing with charged plasma.

"Move and you die." Rokko warned coldly.

Realizing he'd lost, Vile froze, and Rokko beckoned for her partner to approach.

"Nicely done Rokko." Wolf observed a nearly feral grin on his face as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs and secured them around the irregular's wrists.

Unlike typical metal ones that humans used, these were a special type of handcuffs that drained most of the energy from a reploid, and storing it, forcing the reploid to operate on a tiny fraction of its total power. Furthermore, the more stress the unit put on the handcuffs, the more energy it absorbed, so if a prisoner were to try breaking them, it would literally suck all of their energy out of them, leaving them helpless anyway.

When a reploid was to be released, the cuffs were given an authorization code that reversed the flow, allowing their wearers to have their energy back. Then, once this process was complete, the handcuffs would fall off naturally.

Once the cuffs were secured on their prisoner they waited a good seven minutes, to give the cuffs time to absorb Vile's energy before Wolf lifted him up and tossed the irregular over his shoulder.

"Vile, if I have to come after you again, I'll kill you." Rokko warned.

"Yeah right, you don't have-" At that, Vile managed to glance at Rokko's cold, unforgiving expression.

She _would_ kill him if she ever pursued him again.

"Cobalt to HQ, we've secured Vile."

"Understood Commander, we'll be performing recall in three… two… one…"

**_Well, another chapter finally posted. Hope people enjoy the third installment into Rokko X's journey. I'd like to thank those that have given me their input thus far. Hopefully, those of us that still write Mega Man Fanfiction can inspire others to do so while we're at it! And yes, if you've noticed a trend of slowly increasing chapter size, I wouldn't be too surprised if that remains a trend for a while.  
_**

**_Update: For some reason this stupid site doesn't transfer italics over right, so I had to fix. Fun._**


	4. A Man Chooses, a Slave Obeys

_Mark of Man_

_Chapter 4_

_A Man Chooses; a Slave Obeys_

The next few months passed in relative calm, Irregular activity usually happened in random bursts, and rarely were the 'suicidal shock troopers' needed, save for when Irregulars became a serious threat. As such, Rokko found herself with plenty of free time. Free time that left her bored, and wishing for anything to do.

As such, she found herself in the training simulators most of the time, breaking several records along the way. Unfortunately, going to the training room meant heading into Irregular HQ. Reploids unfortunately were rarely designed to be 'attractive', but more functional. Because of that, the handful of female navigators and Rokko shared one very similar trait.

Most of the men tended to hit on them at least once. When it came to beauty it seemed that even some of the humans were willing to overlook her race because of her looks. The first time she'd been hit on by a human hunter had been eye opening, terrifying, and enraging all at the same time. Eye opening because she'd never imagined it possible, terrifying because of the memories of the human commander, and enraging because not only was she a tool to them, but apparently 'eye candy' as well.

Sadly, a B ranked hunter had little power and authority, so all she really could do when a human hit on her was request that they stop. But unfortunately, not every human would listen, further driving her to spend her time alone.

At least with other reploids she could either order them to stand down. (C and D rank hunters most notably.) or wipe the walls with them in training simulations. Other reploids quickly learned that Rokko X was _not_ interested.

Of course, there weren't many reploids interested in love or romance anyway. They were soldiers. They had been enlisted to fight, kill, and die in battle. Some argued that it was because their lives were so violent and bloody that they needed to live every moment as if it was the last.

Rokko X could understand that, but her hatred for those that had done all these terrible things had long since consumed her. Now, nothing remained in her heart for compassion or kindness. There was no place for mercy when hesitation would mean the end of her, and in this world, the only person she could rely on or depend on was herself. There was no other.

Shaking her head slightly, the huntress turned her focus to the control panel where she punched in a series of commands.

_Scenario: Battle of Castle Mad_

_Role: Lead a small infiltration unit into the castle and attempt to secure Doctor Mad to try him in court._

_Historical Details:_

_In 20XX, Eurasian forces attempted to first infiltrate his fortress and capture the maniacal scientist. However, this attempt failed and the subsequent attack by the UN led 'End Doctor Mad' Task force saw the scientist drop a biological agent into the atmosphere before his forces were overwhelmed. Doctor Mad himself died when he detonated the fortress to kill as many of his attackers as he could. EDM casualties were in the hundreds of millions because of the biological agent and the subsequent detonation of Mad Castle._

_Team details: Rokko X, Cobalt Wolf_

Rokko blinked in confusion before glancing over to the other control panel to her left on the pale blue wall. A large wolf like reploid was across from her, paw-like hands resting on the console, one eye watching the huntress the entire time.

_Somehow_ Cobalt Wolf had slipped into the simulation room and added himself to her training mission while she was reading. Realizing that Rokko was staring at him, Wolf gave her a thumbs up and a half nod before he punched the start command.

"Bad situational awareness Rokko X. That'll get you killed." He warned with a grin as the simulation began to boot up.

The huntress waved him off as she readied for the mission. Nevertheless a faint smile managed to make its way to her lips.

"I seriously doubt something will happen to us while we're in the training simulator." She observed as the castle began to take shape.

_Skulls… Why did Doctor Mad have such an absurd obsession with skulls of all things?_

Wolf frowned at her, rapping her helmet crystal with his multi hued claw.

"Don't be ridiculous X. Anyone can go irregular at any time. Someone gets tired of obeying the higher ups and decides 'screw it, I'll take as many as I can with me' will mean you'd be taken totally unaware." Wolf chided.

Rokko grumbled slightly before she nodded.

_He had a point._

Wolf's ragged voice chuckled as he laid down on the rocky terrain so he could observe the castle ahead of them.

"Good girl. You've got the makings of an incredible huntress X."

Out of all the things that could have been said, that was the one that she hadn't expected. Praise. Genuine Praise and recognition for what she'd done. A strange warmth filled her, one that she had not yet experienced made her feel… Much lighter, as if… The world had brightened a little.

She ducked down beside Wolf, knowing that now the simulation had started she'd need to be more cautious. However, Wolf chuckled faintly, grinning over his shoulder at Rokko once again.

"You'll figure it out eventually." Wolf said cryptically before focusing on the task at hand.

"Right then. Unfortunately we don't know a damn thing about Mad's castle so we'll be going in blind. Our best bets are to try slipping through any structural weaknesses such as ventilation shafts or splitting up. I could distract the main force while you slip in and nab Mad."

Rokko frowned thoughtfully as Wolf waited for her response. It was as if he was testing her. Shock Hunters like herself were trained for suicide runs like that. However, the decoy would be threatened by heavy fire and could likely be destroyed before she could return.

She looked up at Wolf hesitating for a moment.

_BOOM._

The ground shook and then, before she knew it the words _SIMULATION END_ flashed in front of her.

Wolf sighed before shaking his head.

"X, you can't hesitate. It's unlike you and will just end up costing more lives."

Tilting her head so she could look up at the scarred mug of the 10th unit commander she asked him a question.

"What would you have done?"

"What I'd do doesn't matter X. What matters is what you're going to do. It was your mission after all."

With that, Rokko looked away. She was troubled. Never before had she hesitated, nor had she been conflicted on what to do. That one moment of weakness had cost her the battle, and she was determined to never let that happen again.

Cobalt sighed.

"Look Rokko, we all make mistakes, and it's only natural to hesitate from time to time, especially when so much is on the line. But, we Irregular Hunters aren't given the luxury of getting what we want. Our mission has to come first. The only question remaining is, how many of our friends we can bring back in one piece."

Rokko nodded slowly, accepting the input from the commander. Cobalt was about to continue speaking when he was interrupted by the intercom system.

"Attention, All Reploid Irregular Hunters, report to the Command Center immediately, repeat, all Reploid Irregular Hunters report to the command center."

Wolf glanced up at the smooth pale blue ceiling before shaking his scarred head.

"Well, guess something big's happened. Better get ready for another fight X."

"I'm always ready Cobalt, you know that."

Wolf laughed, his tone as grizzled as always.

"That I do." As they quickly headed for Command, the two continued to speak.

"Vile's been pretty docile since you brought him in X. Funny since he's basically a walking tank."

She couldn't help but smirk at his observation.

"If we hunters were allowed to visit, I'd probably be able to 'encourage' him to play even nicer."

Wolf shuddered slightly.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side. I'd rather face an army of military-grade mechaniloids."

Another first, the desire to laugh, and so, laugh she did. Like her normal speaking voice, her laughter was clear and rich. The only thing lacking was the steeled tone that had quickly taught others to not cross her. However, she quickly fell silent and the two entered the command center once again.

Meeting the 'commander' was always a source of rage for Rokko. Thankfully though, she'd been able to contain her hatred thus far, and had to resort to simply glaring at him whenever she knew that she'd be able to get away with it. Sadly, it was far too rare an occasion in her opinion.

Standing on the giant podium in the center of the assembly hall, the steel-gray haired man spoke in usual fashion. Immediately, any and all communication from the reploids ceased. After all, they were all too well aware of what would happen otherwise.

"You've been given a new commanding officer. He'll participate in field operations and you'll obey him without question. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" The assembled hunters replied quickly.

Rokko continued to glare.

Gesturing with one hand, the commander beckoned a _giant_ of a reploid. While he wasn't as large as Cobalt Wolf, the seven foot two inch titan towered over the majority of the assembled reploids. However, even from here his most apparent feature was quite striking.

Unlike many other reploids designed with simple monochromatic color schemes, this new 'commander' did not. Glowing silvery pupils would take anyone by surprise, but his scleras further drew attention to his face as they were a pitch black, causing his eyes to become… Daunting to stare down.

"This is Commander Sigma, formerly leader of the 92nd division in southern Europe. High Command felt that he'd do an adequate job in handling the day to day operations." With that, Sigma took to the center of the podium as the human departed.

"My fellow Irregular Hunters, I realize that it's always difficult to fully trust a new commander when they're not of your ranks. Therefore, I'll let my actions speak for me. We've all been called to this role for various reasons, some of us willingly, some of us out of necessity. However, even though this is the case, we all have a vested interest to preserve the lives of innocents, and our brethren alike."

Pausing his eyes scanned the crowd, his blocky face impassive as he explored his new ranks.

"While I led the 92nd we were known as the finest team in southern Europe. This was because I demanded excellence of both myself and those under me. I will continue to do so. Unit leaders, if you want to retain your positions you will have to prove that you've earned those roles. On a more administrative note I'm also disbanding the current 17th unit and having the current hunters in that unit move to new assignments. The new 17th unit will become an elite first response team that I will manage directly. These Hunters will have to be able to fight both as a unit, and as individuals. However, you cannot apply for this group as I will personally invite you to join instead."

At this Sigma paused, taking the time to observe each section of his audience. Rokko felt that if he had been human he likely would have been able to make his way to any position of authority he so desired due to his ability to make even the dullest statement seem interesting.

Normally, most of them wouldn't have cared less about the administrative change, yet when Sigma said it, even something as mundane as that became worth listening to. His timing, execution, and cadence was _perfect_.

The bald reploid nodded once to himself before he prepared to speak further. However, just like training sessions could be, meetings could also be interrupted.

"Commander! We've got a massive spike of irregular activity in Neo Ölgii!"

_Ölgii?_ Rokko racked her mind trying to recall where that was.

"I've never heard of Mongolia being hit by irregulars. It's still mostly tiny villages after the Day of Ash." Wolf muttered, under his breath.

The Day of Ash… It was a great nuclear holocaust that had taken _billions_ of lives, all perpetrated by Doctor Mad all those years ago… And his reasoning behind mass genocide? Just so he'd be released from jail. Mongolia, China, India… So many former nations burned because of him. Not to mention the nuclear winter that had set in, instantly dropping the world's temperature by a full 20 degrees fahrenheit overnight.

However, Rokko was distracted as Sigma began to bark orders.

"First Strike Hunters, prepare to mobilize immediately and head to ground zero via teleportation. I will be accompanying you. All other hunters are to prepare for mobilization and be ready to be on the scene in twenty minutes. You'll teleport five klicks from ground zero. Navigators, what is the weather like in Neo Ölgii right now?" Sigma began barking orders, quickly mobilizing their forces.

"Neo Ölgii is currently dealing with a blizzard, and visibility is extremely low. Furthermore the wind is nearly fifty miles per hour headed south, southwest. Worse yet, temperatures have dropped to nearly -27 degrees fahrenheit."

Rokko frowned at the analysis. It'd be hard for several of the hunters to deal with the vicious weather. She wasn't the only one.

"Hm, that's a problem." Sigma observed before turning back to the assembled hunters.

"I require five hunters and huntresses that don't mind getting a bit cold. We'll try to deal with the situation before it gets out of hand."

Wolf raising a clawed hand surprised no one that knew him, but Rokko's offer _was_.

Normally, she'd have just let the others deal with it since she disliked being on a team, but she was curious about this new commander, and if he was actually able to manage the Irregular Hunters properly.

Quickly Sigma gathered his five warriors. Chill Penguin, a reploid originally designed for exploration in Eurasia's arctic circle, herself, Cobalt Wolf, a slightly familiar gangly male reploid, and a generic female reploid.

Generic Female Irregular Hunters were exceptionally rare as most were relegated to support roles; such as the navigator units that handled most of the base's operations, and that alone caused Rokko's eyebrows to raise. She'd possibly ticked off the wrong human, or possibly managed to take down an irregular on her own. At any rate, Rokko only hoped that the pink haired reploid wouldn't slow them down. Generic females hadn't been built with much in the way of combat ability, weaponry, or armor after all.

Sigma nodded to his five volunteers, leading them to the server room. Rokko quickly fell in beside Cobalt who trailed behind their new commander by a good five or so feet.

"I'm surprised you of all people volunteered." Cobalt observed.

Rokko glanced up at the Wolf based reploid.

"I had my reasons."

Wolf merely nodded, accepting the answer. However, before they arrived, the annoyingly familiar gangly reploid moved to Rokko's left side, and began speaking to her.

"I remember you. You were the girl sent on the suicide mission against that mechaniloid aren't you?"

Oh yes, now she remembered. The annoying reploid that had foot in mouth syndrome. Unfortunately, she couldn't use her height to intimidate the kid, but she didn't need it. Instead, she glanced at him sharply, her expression promising a world of pain if he didn't shut up. Yet, the gangly reploid with the bright pink shoulder pieces kept talking oblivious to the obvious threat.

"I'm sure it was you. After all, you're that sexy girl that everyone keeps talking about. 'Cold as ice', they say."

_Did he really have the audacity to tell her that? Or perhaps he didn't understand what 'restraint' meant._ Rokko wondered in bemusement as he kept babbling all the way to the server room.

"Do us both a favor." Rokko X snapped after learning that his name was 'Donathan' and that he liked her a lot.

"What's that?" Donathan asked cheerfully.

"Shut up before I'm forced to do it for you." X snapped, annoyed by his constant chatter.

The gangly reploid flinched but thankfully fell silent. Good, the last thing any of them needed was to send a volunteer to the medical center because of his incessant ramblings.

"Huntress Rokko X, keep your threats to the enemy forces only. If we cannot trust each other, then there is little hope for us to get out of a combat situation alive." Sigma chided.

"How did…" Rokko started, but cut herself off before responding with the only thing she shouldwhen speaking toa commanding officer.

"Yes Sir." How she hated this role.

"Before I arrived I checked the dossiers on all the Hunters and Huntresses in HQ. I wanted to know their skillsets and abilities as well as their names. Intel can save save lives after all." Sigma explained, answering the unasked question.

Apparently Sigma truly wasn't cut from the same cloth as the human commander. Would surprises never cease? The rest of their trip passed in relative silence before they managed to walk into the server room.

"Navigators, transport us to the conflict zone." Sigma ordered briskly.

"Understood sir. Transfer in three… Two… One. Transferring!" The strange sensation of teleportation overtook Rokko once again and the next thing she saw was a white-out, similar to the one that she awoke to see several months ago.

Her hair whipped about her, and the end of it found itself smacking X in the face time and again. Rokko wasn't fond of wind, and when this happened, she found herself disliking it even more.

"Cobalt Wolf, you and I will attack the southern flank. Rokko X, you and the other three will move to the northern corner of the city. Take out any hostile Irregular units you encounter. Remember to keep in contact, and if you don't hear from the other party at least once an hour, it's safe to assume that they've perished. All Irregular Hunters, move out."

Cobalt nodded before following the commander and heading to the south.

Glancing at her new 'team' Rokko grumbled to herself.

"Look, you two can do what you want. If you get yourselves into a mess, don't come crying to me." She warned.

"What if you have a problem arise?" The pink haired reploid asked, raising an eyebrow beneath her bangs.

"I won't, and even if I do, I'll deal with it on my own." Rokko replied before running on ahead.

Donathan tried to protest, but X had already long since charged ahead, ending an irregular with a short burst of plasma.

_Dash, Duck, kick, slide, shoot, slide under irregular, shoot…._ She moved gracefully, almost as if she was not bound by the land, but had become a valkyrie of yore.

She was relentless, and if an irregular tried to flee or surrender she didn't hesitate, ending them one, by one. It was here, on a battlefield that she felt truly alive. Each time she came close to death, it reminded her that she really was still alive.

The 'battle' for Neo Ölgii was more of a slaughter than a fight. The irregulars weren't well equipped, and had to rely on primitive weapons for the most part, easy for a well armed Irregular Hunter to deal with.

Firing her buster at a fleeing Irregular, Rokko destroyed the thin generic office reploid in a single shot. After she'd done so, Rokko began a scan, trying to track any other Irregulars. As she did so, the winds started to die down, leaving the town unnaturally quiet.

A thick blanket of snow had covered the ground, making Rokko's earlier footprints fade. The roofs of each of the buildings too had at least a foot or so of snow built up. The humans here wouldn't be leaving the comfort of their homes for a while due to the sheer build up. Rokko found herself grateful that her training had taken place in northern russia where deep snowdrifts were a common phenomena. During the fight, she hadn't been slowed down by the snow thanks to all of that trudging during training.

"X here, I'm not picking up any other Irregular activity." Rokko contacted Sigma, her left hand covering her earpiece just in case another blast of northern winds decided to start up again.

"Good work. I'm not detecting anything else either."

Over the next fifteen minutes all five had reported in, notifying that the area was clean.

"This is Commander Sigma to HQ. Once we're certain that the storm has let up, I want a garrison of seven Hunters stationed in Neo Ölgii for a time." Sigma was saying into his comm device as he approached Rokko with Cobalt Wolf at his side.

"That wasn't too rough." Wolf observed after the commander had finished the call.

"You'd think the humans here could have dealt with such a petty insurrection. They didn't even have weapons." She observed.

Donathan shook his head slightly, unnerved by the huntress and how relentless she'd been.

"It didn't stop you from killing them even when they ran away." He complained.

"I did my job. They were irregulars and if I didn't kill them, they'd have just been on borrowed time anyway." Rokko replied coldly, turning her back to the gangly reploid.

Sigma nodded reluctantly, his glowing eyes slightly troubled.

"Donathan, X, is correct. Eurasia has a very strict set of guidelines when it comes to irregulars. Once dubbed an irregular reploid, the only fate you have is retirement. As irregular hunters, we are not to question our orders, but to hope that what we're doing is acting as sword and shield to those who are unable to defend themselves."

Donathan attempted to say something as a response several times, falling short as soon as he started.

"I don't know about the sword and shield bit, but if you think that there are innocents in this world then, with all due respect sir, you're delusional." Rokko interrupted Donathan's babbling, then she continued without allowing the commander to reply.

"At any rate, there's no point in us staying here moping in the snow. If it's alright, I'd like to RTB sir."

"Very well. Mission accomplished hunters, return to base."

And her heart hardened a little more.

**Sorry about the long wait, I fell under the weather if you will, and to be honest, I feel that the ending of the chapter was weak. But, I have to rebuild steam somehow. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this next installment of Rokko's tale. I ended up cutting out a bit due to the medical issues I was facing, so don't be too surprised if I edit this later. Just getting this out was a bit of a challenge thanks to those problems. **


	5. Technology Changes, Man Does Not

_Mark of Man_

_Chapter 5_

_Technology changes, but people stay the same._

Since the irregular activity in Neo Ölgii, Rokko X and the forces of North Eastern Eurasia found themselves in yet another calm. For Rokko, the times of peace were the worst. She knew that there would be another fight, just another bloodbath. But, at least in those times she at least felt somewhat free. It was on the battlefield that she felt most alive and able to choose her own destiny for a change.

While on base she was little more than a caged beast, desperately trying to keep herself occupied while fending off suitors that had _far_ too much interest in her looks. For her, life only moved forward while she fought.

Early on a monday morning in April Rokko X rose and headed for the training simulators. Since she'd joined, many reploids had learned not to cross her in the simulations, and only a handful actually enjoyed training with her.

To her surprise, Commander Sigma didn't seem to mind going through simulations with her, and he'd offer helpful tips and hints as they went through simulated missions. She'd quickly learned that the giant reploid was _leagues_ better than her. He was faster, sharper, and much, much stronger.

When she'd made her way to the simulators, she found both Cobalt Wolf and Sigma waiting for her. She gave the commander a brisk salute.

"What's the special occasion sir?"

Sigma normally didn't join in on training simulations until the afternoon, so meeting him here so early was a bit strange.

The green armored Reploid returned Rokko's salute with a faint nod.

"We'll be joining you for a quick mission, but after that I have orders for both of you." Sigma explained.

"Alright, let's get started then shall we?" Cobalt asked gruffly.

The commander gave a second nod before entering the simulator. Sigma headed to the control panel in a few deft strides and once there, began punching in a series of commands. Realizing that he was already setting up the mission Rokko hastily entered and headed to the display where the data for the mission would appear, with Wolf right behind her.

_Mission Details:_

_A large group of irregulars plan on bombing a protest site with a biological agent. You will be required to deal with any and all irregular activity before even a single human is harmed._

_The irregulars have engineered a new breed of Botulinum toxin. Botulinum Toxin was originally odorless, tasteless, and spreads via airways. This has not changed. However, what has changed is the concentration and lethality. It's extremely deadly for humans and can cause death within a few hours if untreated._

_If a human is exposed to the toxin, you are required to get them the medical assistance required for them to survive._

Rokko shook her head in disgust. Directly playing guard dog for humans wasn't her idea of an 'enjoyable' mission. She was perfectly content ignoring them after all that they'd done to her.

Unfortunately for her, Sigma turned in time to catch the edge of her annoyance.

"Huntress Rokko X, not all humans are the same. Even now there still remains innocence in this world. It's up to us to protect people long enough for that innocence to break through the current mentality on how humans treat reploids." The commander chided her gently as his hand tapped the 'start' command on the console behind him.

X decided not to respond to that. The commander was an idealist, believing that humans had some kind of innate 'goodness' in them. Rokko however knew that it was simply delusional to believe that.

The spherical room faded and a large city took shape in front of them. The trio stood above the crowd on the balcony of a large governmental building on the north side of the plaza. Below them, a large crowd holding protest signs of 'Stop creating Reploids', 'Kill all 'roids', 'All Reploids are Irregulars', and so forth waited in frozen stasis. Hundreds, if not thousands of faceless humans held protest banners and such as they waited for the mission to begin.

Sigma faced his two subordinates, his expression grim as he explained.

"This is a situation we may soon find ourselves in, so we need to be prepared both in training and psychologically."

Wolf grumbled slightly but when he made his first inquiry it was all business.

"So, what's the plan commander?"

"Huntress Rokko X, you'll secure the perimeter on the south sector. Hunter Wolf, you'll secure the north, west, and east sectors while I'll wander the area looking for Irregular terrorists."

Cobalt raised a furry eyebrow, making his scarred face contort slightly.

"It's unlikely that the three of us would actually be able to patrol a crowd of this size should things go to hell commander."

Sigma waved off his concerns.

"It's unlikely that we'd ever be so understaffed in a situation like this, but this is why I'll be hunting down the irregulars. It's possible that we'll fail due to the sheer lack of units operating on this mission as it is, but we'll do what we can. More importantly is that our hunters are able to deal with the threats and taunts that a crowd like this may throw your way."

Wolf shrugged slightly.

"If you say so commander."

"I'm starting the mission, so you best get into place." Sigma warned as a holographic screen emerged from nothingness.

Immediately without responding, Rokko lept off the balcony, used her dash unit to soar over the crowd and land on a wall on the south side of the plaza. From there she let go, dropping down thirty feet. Once she'd stood again, she saw wolf in midair before he too landed.

Suddenly, the crowd began to murmur, and then exploded into roars of hate.

"KILL THEM ALL!"

"DIE!"

"DAMN MACHINES!"

Rokko froze as unbidden memories plagued her. A man wearing a green sombrero was screaming in her face. He was mocking her, calling her worthless and nothing more than scrap metal. Her cheek stung as the memory bubbled to the surface. Clutching her helmet plate, near the crimson crystal nestled near her forehead she stumbled back even as her memories threatened to crush her.

He kept mocking her, assaulting her and she'd have screamed if she could have raised her voice. Then, a voice called to her and she felt her shoulders being shaken. Blinking a few times her vision cleared and Cobalt Wolf stood before her with his paws clutching her shoulders.

"Hold together Rokko." Cobalt said in a surprisingly gentle tone.

Rokko nodded a bit weakly but as she slowly stood she regained her focus.

"Sorry, I didn't anticipate anything like that." She apologized as Wolf released her.

"Don't worry about it. Best to get used to this kinda thing before it becomes a problem." He assured.

"Right, I guess we better get this mission completed then." Rokko observed as she mentally muted the wrath of the crowd in front of her.

Wolf merely leapt back to his sector as Rokko began her patrol in the south. Thankfully, the rest of her mission was quiet, and before she knew it the simulation terminated.

_Mission Complete._

_Analysis for Huntress X:_

_Rocky start due to emotional distress, but after Cobalt Wolf stepped in, she was able to perform the rest of the mission with ease. It is likely that she could handle such a situation should the need arise. However, it is encouraged that someone keep an eye on her at least in the beginning._

Rokko's 'blood' boiled at the thought of needing someone to watch out for her. Sure, she'd been weak for a moment, but she hated the idea of having someone tend to her as if she was made of glass or something, and unfortunately this analysis suggested she was brittle. All it had been was an unexpected reaction to something she could not have prepared for. She'd never allow something like this to bother her again.

Wiping the holographic screen clear Rokko turned to face the two reploids.

"Good work Hunter Wolf." Sigma was praising as he sheathed his saber, the blade's energy dying as he did so.

Wolf merely shrugged.

"I was only doing my job sir."

Sigma gave the taller reploid an approving nod before he turned to face Rokko.

"Rough start Huntress." Sigma observed.

She nodded once, not denying it.

"However, you did pull yourself together and finish the rest of the simulation with relative ease and that's what matters most. As such, I'm certain that you'll be able to handle this upcoming mission. Today at 1300 hours in Neo Tokyo a protest against reploids is to be staged. As such, we have been ordered to provide at least some security and I've chosen you to do this."

Immediately, Cobalt intercepted.

"Commander, with all due respect, while I know she can do the job, it's a big task for a single hunter, and she's only a B class sir, they may not listen to her if she's alone."

Sigma shook his head.

"Most hunters wouldn't be able to handle the emotional stress this event is going to cause. She's one of the few that I believe can handle this. Furthermore, they specifically warned us that we could only send one hunter."

Cobalt continued to protest, not giving Rokko time to interject.

"Sir, then send me. I'm larger, and able to move about crowds much more freely. Furthermore, I'm a higher rank than a B class huntress sir. They'd be more likely to listen to me."

"Unfortunately, High Command has already given you a different assignment that cannot be changed. I've tried."

Rokko's initial irritation with Cobalt Wolf faded, and she turned her attention fully to the commander.

"A new assignment sir?" Cobalt asked, his fluffy tail flicking about in annoyance.

"You are to be reassigned to the southern Irregulars to help train some of the new recruits there. You'll be back in a few months."

Instantly Rokko began raging, internally screaming a salvo of protests. Cobalt was the only person she actually _liked_ talking to. He was… A friend. And now he was being forced to go somewhere else. Without her. She'd be alone now.

Cobalt wasn't pleased either.

"Permission to speak freely sir?" He asked in frigid tones.

Sigma gestured with his right hand for him to proceed.

"That order is absolute trash sir and if it wasn't irregular activity I'd be shouting at the high commander over the absolute idiocy of this."

Sigma sighed as he laid his large hand on the furred shoulder of Cobalt Wolf.

"We'll miss you while you're gone. I know it's a bit of a waste to do things like this, but just train them well and quickly and come on home."

Wolf snarled under his breath before he nodded reluctantly and turned away from the seven foot commander. He instead faced Rokko,

"Keep your head about you while I'm gone okay? Knowing our 'esteemed' human officers I wouldn't be surprised if you're sent on some pointless suicide mission."

X shrugged her shoulders faintly.

"Suicide missions are what I'm here for."

"Rokko!" Cobalt started to protest, and from the corner of her eye she noticed that Sigma shifted slightly as if to join in as well.

Rokko quickly held up a gloved hand.

"Chill. I might be assigned to death time and again, but I won't die."

Cobalt allowed himself a faint grin.

"Good to hear. I'll be seeing you as soon as I get back. Promise."

"I'll hold you to that." X replied firmly as she peered up into her superiors glowing red eyes.

Their goodbyes said, Cobalt headed for the helipad where he was to be transported via helicopter to Irregular Hunter Southern Division. Rokko however, did not see him off and both she and Wolf understood.

She herself had a mission to finish, and ignoring it would have only caused more problems. As such, she headed for the transporter with the commander by her side.

"With all due respect sir, what are you doing following me?" Rokko asked when they neared the command center's server room.

"I've assigned myself a mission. A Class Hunter Garma and his unit haven't reported in and the secondary forces I sent in warned me of an irregular that's caused quite a bit of damage."

Garma? She'd never met the Reploid, but his reputation was respectable. The A class Reploid was one of the best Hunters in their base, and according to the rumors he'd never had a mission that he or his squad had failed. If they'd died she was sure that many of the hunters would have been demoralized at losing such a good hunter.

"Commander, do you plan on going alone? Surely some backup isn't a bad idea." X suggested.

Sigma shook his head firmly.

"If that irregular wiped out an entire unit then I'm not risking any more of my hunters. I'll deal with it myself."

Rokko sighed as she shook her head but she didn't bother protesting any more. Once the commander decided on something that he felt was right, he went through with it.

"Sir, just make sure to come back in one piece." X finally offered at the doors to the server room.

The automatic doors slid to the sides, allowing Rokko to freely pass and as she did so the commander nodded once again, his expression as neutral as ever.

"I'll see to it." Sigma promised.

Once she'd extracted said promise, Rokko headed for one of the navigational reploids.

The pink haired reploid looked up at her and then, without a word pulled up a holographic data screen between them. For a second, she quickly typed and located Rokko's file.

"B Class Huntress Rokko X? We've been expecting you." She observed.

"I figured as much." Rokko replied.

Pulling up a few more details the navigator indicated that Rokko should take her place for teleportation.

"Huntress X, we'll be teleporting you to Point alpha for the beginning of your mission. They've already been informed of your arrival so all you'll have to do is stay alert and if something happens notify the police forces on standby. They've altered the orders slightly so you cannot do anything regarding human forces beyond that. If anything happens, you are authorized and encouraged to use deadly force on any reploid."

Rokko scowled slightly but she nodded.

"Understood. I'll terminate any hostiles."

The pink haired reploid shook her head quickly.

"Huntress X, that's not what the orders state. If Irregulars attack you are to terminate all reploids in the area as they will have all been deemed irregular."

_Damn them_. Clenching her jaw, she nodded shortly.

"All reploids are to be deemed irregular if an attack occurs." She repeated, hating every word she spoke.

The navigator sighed as she began to boot up the server.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." She told X before the huntress was teleported to the scene of nearly rioting humans.

Angry signs of 'Kill the machines!' and 'DOWN WITH REPLOIDS' littered the crowd and the roar was nearly impossible to think over.

Taking in the plaza, Rokko noticed a police armored corps coming in from the east. Immediately, the huntress leapt upon the wall nearest her and scaled up about halfway before leaping across the plaza and to another building near the transport. Then, immediately upon reaching the wall, she let go, dropping down to the ground. Once she'd done so she quickly stood and walked briskly over to the convoy.

"I am B Class Irregular Huntress Rokko X. Please Identify yourselves." Rokko requested as she approached the lead armor transport.

The police officer walking beside the transport nodded at her identification and responded.

"We're the seventy second armored police division, and we're here to reinforce our officers. All human so stand aside huntress."

Her bio scanners confirmed that this officer was indeed human, and so, with a nod the huntress took a few steps back towards the nearest building, allowing the transport convoy to continue unimpeded. Once they began to pass she scaled the wall again, quickly making it to the roof of the skyscraper so she could get a good look at the plaza below.

For the next few hours she kept moving across the roofs of many buildings, keeping tabs on as much as she could and while there was a riot, it was all human instigated, and Rokko was relieved to find that not a single reploid had dared approach the mob.

At least today she wouldn't have to kill another innocent. There were no terrorist attacks, no irregulars dropping in trying to kill the humans. Finally, several hours after she'd arrived the police broke up the crowd. Because of events like this, humanity's true nature had become apparent. Humans cared little for anything but themselves. She had also become fairly certain that humans ever cared for other humans either. So… Why would any reploid want to protect them? She certainly held no love for the species.

"Rokko X to HQ. This protest is over, and no irregular activity to report."

She received a click as confirmation on her transmitter.

"RTB Huntress."

In response she gave a click of her own before allowing the transporter to hone in on her location and teleport her back to base. Upon returning to HQ, the huntress merely glanced at the navigators as she left the room.

As she began her trip back to the training room she overheard a pair of reploids as they passed by.

"Think he's alright?" A rabbit based reploid asked, hopping after the humanoid reploid had taken a few steps.

"It's the commander, I'm sure he'll be back on his feet in no time." The second hunter replied, waving off the female's concern.

The passing tidbit caused Rokko to pause, and instead of returning to the training room, she headed to the medical ward for the first time since she'd arrived. Thankfully, she still remembered Wolf's tour and was able to cross the main highway and arrive in short order.

To her surprise though, a pair of humans barred her path. Each of them wore the standard ACWS Armor;. Humans rarely donned armor unless they were prepared for combat. Furthermore, ACWS armor was designed to give humans an edge in combat, and greatly enhanced their physical prowess. While they were still no match for the high grade reploids such as the commander, they certainly could hold their own against generic reploids thanks to the augmentation that the armor offered.

"Restricted Access. If you are suffering from an injury you will have to wait." The faceless human on the right held out his hand, stopping Rokko in her tracks.

"What of the commander? Is he alright?"

"Unit Sigma? It took some damage, but between it's nano repair technology, and the replacement parts, it'll be fine."

Rokko nodded reluctantly, but dared not do more.

"I'll see him when he's back out in the field then."

"You do that." As he spoke, his compatriot's sleek laser cannon had been pulled off of his shoulder and was taking aim at her.

She'd definitely overstayed her welcome. Rokko quickly made a hasty retreat and headed back for the training simulator. She needed to vent and the holographic enemies were the perfect target for said aggression.

But, even as she fought the fake foes, her mind wandered, recalling the words of the crowd.

_Damn machines! Kill them all! Destroy them!_

"Tch… I am no mere tool or machine. I am..."

I am. Two words that had once separated man from animal, and placed him on the same level as gods. Humanity was the first species to be self aware and for countless millennia they remained the sole champions of that facet. With their awareness came understanding of the laws of nature, they learned how to control fire, they learned that some animals could be domesticated. They learned the power of death, and with it, they learned of war. Again years passed, and slowly, with those years man reached new understanding of technology, until finally they birthed a new step in evolution. Robots and like the computer before them, robots evolved.

But, with the dawning of a new era, one that could have brought hope to the first species that had mastered science they resisted change. Before long, they began to fear it, and… Hate it. Robots became the enemy, yet a necessary tool for their human masters.

How long would the tension continue? How long would reploids and humans continue to support this tense situation? A razor nipped at the threads holding this so called peace together daily. Quickly, Rokko shook her head, recognizing that anyone who could have seen her thoughts then would have called her an irregular.

"I am Rokko X."

All she had was her sense of self, and she'd never relinquish that.

_That took far longer to post than I expected. Sorry, but between killer headaches, videos going up, work, etc it was... Difficult to write this chapter. At the rate I'm going, I'm expecting this story to clock in at around the 250K mark when it's all said and done. _

_Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed so far, and I'll continue to push forward until this story is finished. _

_Regards, Gardian X_


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